Grade A Lakes, Excellent

1,395 lakes (26% of all graded lakes)

A-grade lakes are the ones that show up on coffee-table books — measurable clarity, low nutrients, cold deep water. 1,395 lakes pull an A; Minnesota leads with 639, followed by Wisconsin with 455.

Oligotrophic conditions dominate the bracket. These are the deep, cold-water lakes that the upper-Midwest is known for — clarity is a function of basin shape and watershed land use as much as anything humans do. About 33% of A-grade lakes are deep (50+ ft) — depth and grade correlate, but not perfectly: some shallow lakes earn As through low-nutrient watersheds and active lake-association work.

A B C D F

1,395

Total Lakes

States Covered

MN 639WI 455MI 202NY 60MO 17ND 11IL 5IA 4IN 1SD 1

Lake	County	State	Clarity	Depth	Fish
East Fox Lake	Crow Wing	MN	16.4 ft	65 ft	15
North Long Lake	Crow Wing	MN	15.1 ft	97 ft	18
Bad Medicine Lake	Becker	MN	25 ft	84 ft	13
Big Sugar Bush Lake	Becker	MN	16.5 ft	42 ft	13
Round Lake	Cook	MN	16.5 ft	45 ft	5
Round Lake	Beltrami	MN	18 ft	38 ft	0
Horseshoe Lake	Cass	MN	21 ft	51 ft	12
Long Lake	Cass	MN	21.5 ft	115 ft	14
Long Lake	Clearwater	MN	20.5 ft	80 ft	15
Long Lake	Beltrami	MN	20 ft	87 ft	11
Long Lake	Becker	MN	19.3 ft	61 ft	16
Long Lake	Cass	MN	17 ft	37 ft	12
Long Lake	Itasca	MN	16.7 ft	72 ft	10
Long Lake	Itasca	MN	16.9 ft	85 ft	12
Dead Lake	Hubbard	MN	16 ft	34 ft	9
West Twin Lake	Crow Wing	MN	20 ft	-	0
Sunshine Lake	St. Louis	MN	20 ft	37 ft	0
Otter Lake	Otter Tail	MN	18 ft	64 ft	7
Ossawinnamakee Lake	Crow Wing	MN	20 ft	63 ft	18
Clear Lake	Crow Wing	MN	18 ft	63 ft	15
Clear Lake	Aitkin	MN	15 ft	24 ft	14
Clear Lake	Itasca	MN	14.9 ft	30 ft	9
Eagle Lake	Otter Tail	MN	22.6 ft	46 ft	10
West Fox Lake	Crow Wing	MN	15 ft	55 ft	15
Spearhead Lake	Hubbard	MN	15 ft	81 ft	17
Ida Lake	Douglas	MN	16.4 ft	106 ft	19
Star Lake	Crow Wing	MN	19 ft	83 ft	12
Star Lake	Otter Tail	MN	17 ft	94 ft	17
Upper Maple Lake	Wright	MN	17.2 ft	76 ft	15
Fish Lake	Otter Tail	MN	18 ft	69 ft	17
Jenny Lake	Lake	MN	15.5 ft	93 ft	0
Hamlet Lake	Crow Wing	MN	18.5 ft	88 ft	0
Birch Lake	Wright	MN	15 ft	52 ft	9
Birch Lake	Cook	MN	18 ft	69 ft	3
Birch Lake	Unknown	MN	15 ft	34 ft	10
Woman Lake	Cass	MN	15 ft	-	0
Girl Lake	Cass	MN	17.6 ft	81 ft	18
Little Toad Lake	Becker	MN	15 ft	65 ft	15
Charlotte Lake	Wright	MN	17.1 ft	46 ft	10
Bass Lake	Otter Tail	MN	17.4 ft	-	0
Bass Lake	Crow Wing	MN	16.1 ft	47 ft	14
Bass Lake	Itasca	MN	18.2 ft	65 ft	7
Bass Lake	Cass	MN	-	55 ft	12
Crooked Lake	Stearns	MN	15.5 ft	35 ft	10
Crooked Lake	Hubbard	MN	19 ft	-	0
Crooked Lake	Crow Wing	MN	15 ft	54 ft	16
Cedar Lake	Morrison	MN	16.2 ft	88 ft	14
Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	MN	16.4 ft	55 ft	20
Square Lake	Washington	MN	17 ft	68 ft	9
Lower Bottle Lake	Hubbard	MN	15 ft	110 ft	13
Big Pine Lake	Aitkin	MN	17 ft	78 ft	15
Strawberry Lake	Becker	MN	17.5 ft	40 ft	16
Alexander Lake	Morrison	MN	16.5 ft	64 ft	19
Mcavity Lake	Itasca	MN	17.3 ft	29 ft	9
Gull Lake	Cass	MN	15 ft	80 ft	22
Gull Lake	Cook	MN	15.5 ft	-	0
Deep Portage Lake	Cass	MN	15.4 ft	105 ft	9
Little Wabana Lake	Itasca	MN	24 ft	57 ft	6
Clearwater Lake	Cook	MN	29 ft	65 ft	0
Clearwater Lake	Lake	MN	18 ft	46 ft	0
Lower Hay Lake	Crow Wing	MN	18.5 ft	100 ft	21
Latoka Lake	Douglas	MN	19 ft	108 ft	16
Fullers Lake: East Basin	Beltrami	MN	15 ft	-	0
Pike Lake	Cook	MN	17.4 ft	45 ft	7
Pike Lake	St. Louis	MN	18 ft	60 ft	9
Unnamed Lake	Otter Tail	MN	15.1 ft	95 ft	17
Maple Lake	Itasca	MN	15.3 ft	39 ft	13
Shallow Lake	Itasca	MN	16.4 ft	85 ft	12
Trout Lake	Itasca	MN	16 ft	135 ft	15
Trout Lake	Itasca	MN	18 ft	157 ft	9
Trout Lake	Cook	MN	18.4 ft	77 ft	6
Eddy Lake	Lake	MN	17 ft	95 ft	0
Cowdry Lake	Douglas	MN	17.1 ft	52 ft	19
Bear Lake	Lake	MN	17.4 ft	31 ft	4
Blue Lake	Hubbard	MN	17.3 ft	84 ft	13
Blue Lake	Crow Wing	MN	20 ft	48 ft	0
Partridge Lake	Crow Wing	MN	16.2 ft	42 ft	10
Sand Lake	Cass	MN	20 ft	54 ft	12
Union Lake	Polk	MN	15 ft	-	0
Tofte Lake	Lake	MN	18.5 ft	73 ft	3
Andrusia Lake	Beltrami	MN	15.1 ft	60 ft	21
Green Lake	Beltrami	MN	18.5 ft	-	0
Big Mcdonald Lake	Otter Tail	MN	17.4 ft	46 ft	15
Island Lake	Cass	MN	15.5 ft	45 ft	12
Island Lake	Becker	MN	15 ft	38 ft	15
Island Lake	Crow Wing	MN	15.1 ft	76 ft	19
Island Lake	Cass	MN	17.5 ft	40 ft	13
Island Lake	Beltrami	MN	16 ft	-	0
Island Lake	Hubbard	MN	16.4 ft	32 ft	13
Island Lake	Crow Wing	MN	-	36 ft	9
Moose Lake	Beltrami	MN	15.1 ft	71 ft	12
Portage Lake	Cass	MN	21 ft	84 ft	10
Lizzie Lake	Otter Tail	MN	16.4 ft	66 ft	21
Eagles Nest Lake	St. Louis	MN	15.5 ft	49 ft	9
Turtle Lake	Becker	MN	23 ft	73 ft	13
Turtle Lake	Itasca	MN	17.1 ft	54 ft	0
Rice Lake	Itasca	MN	15 ft	68 ft	14
Mukooda Lake	St. Louis	MN	16.6 ft	78 ft	14
Pokegama Lake	Itasca	MN	16.1 ft	112 ft	19
Sandy Lake	Beltrami	MN	16 ft	-	0

Showing 100 of 1,395 Grade A lakes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many lakes have a grade of A?

There are 1,395 Grade A (Excellent) lakes across the 12 states LakeQuality covers, led by Minnesota (639) and Wisconsin (455). This represents 26% of all graded lakes.

What does a Grade A mean?

Grade A means excellent water quality with crystal clear water (Secchi depth over 15 ft), very low phosphorus (under 20 µg/L), and minimal algae. These are the cleanest lakes, ideal for swimming and supporting coldwater fish like lake trout.

Featured Grade A Lakes

East Fox Lake

Crow Wing County, MN · 16.4 ft clarity

North Long Lake

Crow Wing County, MN · 15.1 ft clarity

Bad Medicine Lake

Becker County, MN · 25 ft clarity

Big Sugar Bush Lake

Becker County, MN · 16.5 ft clarity

Round Lake

Cook County, MN · 16.5 ft clarity

Round Lake

Beltrami County, MN · 18 ft clarity

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.